12/31/2016

2016 - Saying goodbye to a turbulent year

As most of those who read this, I tend to reflect the most at the end/beginning of a year. We arrange our binders in years and we tend to think chronologically. It's only natural to contemplate more about ups and downs when there is a big cut in that cultural logbook. It asks'what was before?' and 'What will come next?'

I sure as hell didn't write as much as I wanted to. Five blog posts are a measly amount of posts. There are two main reasons - though not excuses:
1) I was really really busy.
2) I am still scared that I have nothing new (or for that exciting) to add to the chorus of creators out there.

Number one is not a problem at all. It just made it obvious to me that I have to step up my game when it comes to my planning skills in the next years. But although I am a wee bit nervous, I also am confident that I will grow into a life with better planning.

Number two is a major issue. 2016 was a better year for me when it comes to social media and I learned a lot by watching how other develop their platforms and fandoms. At the same time I feel tension and hesitation when it comes to putting myself out there.
Why should anybody be interested in what I do? There is already so much stuff out there. Before the summer of 2016, I still had that idea of creating something nobody ever made before...

Which is ridiculous for two reasons.

On one hand I will never find a theme in a medium that nobody ever did think of before....but secondly...when I do it my way, just as it speaks to me, actually, nobody ever did do it like that before because there is nobody exactly like me out there. I'm still getting into this because this asks another "scary" action of myself. Getting in touch with myself and not feel like an egotistical, pretentious prick about it. I put "scary" in quotation marks because there is a shitload of really scary stuff out there in the world, like living in a war zone etc. That shows how relatively easy I feel stupid for getting too deep into own insignificant motifs why I do anything at all.

But there is another reason why I had a hard time convincing myself to write something. There already is so much stuff. Regularly I get overwhelmed by the amount of information waiting for me on social media. Sadly it works like a bag of crisps. You just can not stop until the bag is empty aka. until you read EVERYTHING that happened when you weren't online.
As much as social media can work as a tool for you it also works against you when you fledge from beginner to something more like a pro. Sometimes you need to check what is going on around you and sometimes - as I learned this year - you just have to turn it off. There is a point when you have to put theory into praxis and take a break from taking more stuff in. Letting your brain rest, create boredom to be able to be creative. Just as athletes have to take days off from torturing their muscles to give their muscles time to recover and grow. And then....you have to have balls... to stand out.

Just get out there and quit being afraid!

And with that I'll keep reflecting to myself right now and wish everybody a Happy New Year!

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As a daughter of two ornithologists and natural scientists I have always been enchanted by nature. For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to illustration, science and to nature. It is the reason why I not only make commercial illustrations but also love to work in the field of scientific illustration.
In both fields the start of an illustration is often made with a pencil stroke. But the final rendering is possible in different kind of media: Watercolour, Colour pencil, digital or mixed media.
If you would like to contact me, please don’t hesitate to send an email to Ankat_Hermanns@Ankatsart.com! I would love to hear from you!